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“The Wild Around You”: New IMAX Film Showcases Amazing Animals In Our Own Backyards

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – “The Wild Around You 3D,” a new giant-screen film focused on the relationship between people and animals, premieres March 16 at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater.

The film centers on a modern suburban family and the animals that live in and near their home. Unbeknownst to their human neighbors — except one girl whose eyes are steadily opened to the wonder around her —the nearby woods teem with wildlife. The 45-minute film captures intimate moments of natural wonder happening right underfoot and overhead, from the daredevil free-fall of wood duck hatchlings leaving the nest and the annual migration of legions of spotted salamanders to the monumental power of a raindrop to turn a ladybug’s world upside down.

“The Wild Around You 3D” helps to shine a light on natural behaviors that often go overlooked or unnoticed. The filmmakers deployed tiny cameras, inventive motion-control rigs, time-lapse, and high-speed frame rates to take viewers inside animal dens from the forest canopy to beneath the ground. On Chattanooga’s largest screen, audiences will come antenna-close to bumblebees taking off from white clover and chuckle at the springtime descent of chittering raccoon kits from treetop dens. These scenes take place in all four seasons and offer unprecedented views of wildlife in a setting that appears as if it were shot near Chattanooga.

The Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director and producer, Andrew Young, will introduce the film’s premiere at 5:30 p.m. on March 16. Register online for this special screening at www.tnaqua.org/events-programs.

A visit to the Tennessee Aquarium can introduce guests to a vast array of animals from all over the world, as well as the biologically abundant Southeastern United States. Walking the galleries — especially after seeing “The Wild Around You 3D” — helps reinforce the notion that people are part of a complex ecosystem and share their home with incredible native wildlife, says Dr. Brooke Gorman, the Aquarium’s Director of Science Education.

Kids can become backyard scientists during spring break at the Aquarium. They can meet fascinating animals and the experts who care for them before or after viewing “The Wild Around You 3D.” Extra programs will be offered each week between March 9 and April 8 to give youngsters a scientist’s view into the hidden lives and wonderful adaptations of the region’s creatures. http://www.tnaqua.org/plan-your-visit/spring-break.